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Genetic Risk of Parkinson’s Disease Increased by Low Selenium Intake, Study Shows

Low selenium intake may increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in people carrying a particular genetic mutation, according to a study on environmental and genetic interactions and their impact on Parkinson’s disease (PD) development. The research demonstrated that cataloging knowledge of gene-environment interactions is indispensable for leveraging knowledge from…

Brain Inflammation in Football Players Tied to Dementia and, Possibly, Parkinson’s in Study

Brain inflammation suffered by athletes in contact sports like football appears to be directly linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a cause of dementia, and may lead to neurological diseases like Parkinson’s, according to a study in the journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications. Indeed, the authors argue that American football players and others with a history of repetitive…

More Research Needed for Using Skin Biopsies to Diagnose, Provide Early Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease

Though alpha-synuclein, the dysfunctional protein in Parkinson’s disease that can be found in skin nerve fibers, has been shown to be a reliable biomarker of the condition that could lead to early treatment, more research is needed to standardize diagnostic techniques using biopsies, according to recent study perspective published in …

‘Back to the Future’ Inspires Effort to Detect Parkinson’s in Its Earliest Phases

New research by the Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) aims to make possible the early detection of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by using strongly magnetized xenon gas to enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The project, funded by a nearly $350,000 three-year award from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, was,…

Discovery of Factors Connecting Parkinson’s Disease with Alzheimer’s Opens Door for Developing New Treatments

Researchers have discovered a factor that controls the accumulation of both alpha-synuclein and tau, two proteins that drive neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. The findings bring not only a new understanding of how the two conditions may be linked, but also offer possibilities for the development of new treatment…